CONTACTS:
To message Archimandrite Kyril or to arrange a baptism or wedding please email the Parish Priest@bristol-orthodox-church.co.uk (Tel. 01179706302 or 07944 860 955).
For more see: CONTACTS
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Regular services: Every Saturday: 5.30 p.m. Vespers Every Sunday: 10.30 a.m. Divine Liturgy
WEEKLY SERVICES & INFORMATION (Note: our Parish follows the “New” (Revised Julian) Calendar. For dates on the “Old” Julian Calendar, refer to an online calendar. The exceptions are: 1. The Feast of The Nativity (Christmas), for which we have services on both calendars; 2. The lectionary for the Sundays before The Nativity and up to The Great Fast. Between October and The Great Fast the lectionaries of the different Orthodox local churches do not coincide. This affects the Sunday Epistle (Apostle) and Gospel readings. Our parish follows the more traditional sequence as published online by the Orthodox Church of America (though it is, of course, not “theirs”!). This will not always match the current (and more recent) sequence used by, for instance, the Moscow Patriarchate or of the Great Church of Constantinople. CURRENT SERVICES Saturday 18th January 2025 5.30 p.m. Vespers
Sunday 19th January 2025. 30th Sunday after Pentecost. 10.30 a.m. Divine Liturgy. Readings:: Colossians 3:12-16 Luke 18:35-43 Sunday Catechesis classes resume today after the Divine Liturgy.
Saturday 25th January 2025 5.30 p.m. Vespers
Sunday 26th January 2025. 31st Sunday after Pentecost. 10.30 a.m. Divine Liturgy. Readings: 1 Timothy 1:15-17 Matthew 15:21-28
Saturday 1st February 2025. St Bridget (Bride), Abbess of Kildare (Cill Dara). 5.30 p.m. Vespers
Sunday 2nd February 2025. FEAST OF THE MEETING OF THE LORD IN THE TEMPLE. Sunday of Zacchaeus (Last Sunday before The Triodion*). 10.30 a.m. Divine Liturgy. Readings: For the Feast: Hebrews 7:7-17 Luke 2:22-40 For the Sunday (Zacchaeus): 1 Timothy 4:9-15 Luke 19:1-10
Saturday 8th February 2025. 5.30 p.m. Vespers
Sunday 9th February 2025. Sunday of the Tax Collector (“Publican”) and the Pharisee. (Beginning of the Triodion). Leavetaking of the Feast of the Meeting in the Temple. 10.30 a.m. Divine Liturgy. Readings: For the Sunday: 2 Timothy 3:10-15 Luke 18:9-14 For the Feast: Hebrews 7:7-17 Luke 2:22-40
*THE TRIODION: From the Sunday of the Tax-collector (“Publican”) and the Pharisee the Church begins to use the order of services particular to the season leading up to Pascha. On weekdays the number of Odes in the Canon at Matins is reduced from eight to three (or two) – hence Tri-odion, the name of the book of these services of the fasting season (“Lent”). The Sunday gospel of Zacchaeus (2nd February this year) is our alert or wake-up call that the Fast is approaching, and on the next Sunday, Tax-collector (“Publican”) and the Pharisee, we begin the run-in to the Fast.
FOOD BANK: DON’T FORGET THE NEEDS OF OTHERS who do not have enough! Bring contributions please.
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PARISH NEWS **BUILDING NEWS UPDATE (JANUARY 2025)**: The painting of the altar walls has been completed. The scaffolding in the altar area is (still) due to come down! Once that is done a huge clean-up will ensue; and then we can move back to our normal arrangement. Meanwhile, the further scaffolding at the back of the church (to investigate and remedy woodworm activity and water ingress) is coming down this week. Initial estimates suggest this work too is going to be expensive! PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY! THANK YOU for your generous donations. Without this, we would not have a space to worship in. We are extremely blessed to have our own space that does not need to be shared with other users. If we look after it, the building will be sure to last a few more hundred years and serve our community for many generations to come.
GIFT AID |
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Some selected saints (AND FEASTS) of the coming days).. –
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For those who wish to donate to our Parish online, our Facebook fundraiser can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/donate/453504039824339/?fundraiser_source=external_url
Sermon for the Sunday after Theophany
Archimandrite Kyril Jenner
Matthew 4:12-17
Our Lord began his public ministry only after Saint John the Baptist had completed his. There was to be no rivalry between them. Their different roles were not confused. The herald, Saint John the Baptist, pointed to our Lord as the one who would follow him, but also be much greater than him. The arrest of John brought an end to his public preaching, and provided the opportunity for our Lord to begin his.
Our Lord moved from the tiny hamlet of Nazareth to the larger village of Capernaum. This was a fishing village on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where many more people would pass through and be able to hear our Lord’s teaching.
Saint Matthew quotes from the Prophet Isaiah, who foretold that to this region, where people from different nations lived side by side, the light of the Gospel would come to those “in darkness” and “in the shadow of death.” Saint John Chrysostom explains that the darkness here refers to “human errors and ungodliness.” (Homily 14 on Matthew) Saint Theophylact tells us that “ ‘The shadow of death’ is sin, for sin is the likeness and silhouette of death. Just as death overpowers the body, so too does sin overpower the soul. The light has dawned on us, for we were not seeking it, but it appeared to us as if it were pursuing us.” (Explanation of the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew, Chapter 4)
Our Lord’s initial preaching simply followed on from that of John. He used the same basic message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) Using the same words showed the continuity of his teaching with that of John. He seems often to have expressed himself more gently than John, and only gradually did he make it clearer that the kingdom was present in his person.
The first step towards entering the kingdom is to repent. Without repentance we get nowhere. We have to continually turn away from the things of this world and turn towards Christ. Saint Ignatii Brianchaninov tells us: “In order to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ repentance is needed; in order to remain in this faith that brings salvation, repentance is needed; in order to be successful in it, repentance is needed; in order to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, repentance is needed.” (Sermon for the Sunday after Theophany)
True repentance should lead us to a greater awareness of our sinfulness. Attempting to follow the commandments of Christ brings us up against the limitations we impose on ourselves through sin. Only through repentance can we come to faith in Christ. The good news, the Gospel, is that our sins are forgiven when we repent, and so we enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Saint John Chrysostom tells us: “The best thing then is, to avoid sin in the first instance: the next best thing is to be aware that we sin, and thoroughly amend ourselves. But if we do not do this, how shall we who take no account of these matters pray to God and ask forgiveness of our sins? For when you yourself who have offended are unwilling to know so much as this very fact, that you have sinned, for what sort of offences will you ask God for pardon? For what you do not know? And how will you know the greatness of the benefit? Therefore tell your offences in detail, so that you may learn for what you receive forgiveness, and that so you may become grateful towards your Benefactor.” (Homily 14 on Matthew)
God, in his mercy and love, has sent his Son into the world to show us the way to salvation. Saint Ignatii Brianchaninov tells us: “[Christ] has accomplished everything for our salvation. He has reconciled us with God; he has prepared and acquired the heavenly kingdom for us. We, mankind, have been presented with one work in the matter of our salvation: the work of accepting salvation, given to us by God, free and complete, the work of repentance. The heavenly kingdom and the heavenly King are ineffably close to us — incomparably closer than we imagine. … The opening of the doors of the heart to the heavenly King is accomplished—with repentance.” (Sermon for the Sunday after Theophany)
Our Lord began his teaching with the simple instruction: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As we learn more about the details of the faith and the work of Christ, we still need to remember and obey that simple basic command. Each day we repent of our sins. Each day we repent of our lack of love for God. Each day we repent of our lack of love for one another. God offers us forgiveness of our sins. We have to accept that forgiveness, and each day make a new start in our service of God. We do this trusting in the power of our heavenly King to support us and to fill us with his love. We do this so that at the last, through the mercy and compassion of God, we may be given a place in his eternal heavenly kingdom.
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Like all small communities we rely on the generosity of friends and well-wishers. If you would like to contribute to the continuation of our parish and the upkeep of our historic church building, you can make a donation here:
https://www.facebook.com/donate/679204386685133/?fundraiser_source=external_url
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